Tags:

Text Size

-

+

reset

The House ethics committee announced Friday that it is reviewing cases involving Reps. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kansas), pictured above, and Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), the latest sign that the panel continues to look at the activities of senior members of the powerful Appropriations Committee.
AP Photo

Digg/Buzz It Up

POLITICO 44

The House ethics committee announced Friday that it is reviewing cases involving Reps. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kansas) and Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), the latest sign that the panel continues to look at the activities of senior members of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

The Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent ethics watchdog group, made recommendations to the ethics committee Dec. 2 regarding both lawmakers, according to statements from the panel.

The ethics committee has 45 days to review an OCE recommendation and can ask for another 45-day extension. At the end of that period, the ethics committee must either vote to begin a formal investigation of the case or dismiss it, at which point the OCE recommendation becomes public.

Visclosky was subpoenaed in late May by a federal grand jury conducting a criminal probe into his relationship with the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm that specialized in winning multimillion dollar earmarks from the Appropriations Committee.

Charles Brimmer, Visclosky’s former top aide, also received a document subpoena from the grand jury. Brimmer left Visclosky’s staff shortly before news of the subpoenas broke.

Tiahrt, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), has also been tied to the PMA Group.

“I’m relieved this matter is in the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Standards, which now allows me to be fully exonerated by March 2,” Tiahrt said in a statement released by his office. The March 2 date would be the deadline for the ethics committee to complete its review of the OCE’s recommendation.

Under pressure from Republicans, the ethics committee announced that it was begin its own investigation of lawmakers’ dealings with PMA.

But the ongoing Justice Department criminal investigation has hampered the ethics committee’s ability to look into allegations that PMA funneled millions of dollars of campaign contributions to members of the Appropriations Committee, who in return approved hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks for PMA’s lobbying clients.

PMA’s offices were raised by federal agents in Nov. 2008, and the firm imploded shortly afterward.

How about investigating the blatant vote-selling by nearly all Democratic members of Congress. The Senator from Louisiana currently holds the record with one bribe of $300 million, but that's only among the ones that we know about. These people have lost all sense of what their jobs are about. I'm totally disgusted with what's going on.

it is so refreshing to see that queen Nancy and Harry the pimp have drained the swamp and brought us the most open, honest and transparent government we have ever had. I can not wait to see what they are going to do for us next.

Hey Bresnahan, how about pounding some keys and tell us where they are with the probe of old Charlie Rangel. He's been in a lot of pics this week with Pelosi and damn it if he doesn't always have a big smile on his face. Guess the rent for his four rent controlled aprtments in NYc is not being raised this year, and probably using excess re elect campaign funds for a new Cadillac. So, keep bringing up reports though unsubstantiated about other members of Congress, but not Charlie good old boy.